Will Bleach Affect Hardwood Floors

If you re interested in generally cleaning your wood or using bleach on hardwood floors to remove dark stains from tannins and iron stains from metal fasteners and you want to leave the natural color unchanged use oxalic acid.

Will bleach affect hardwood floors.

Stubborn stains and grime on your floor can easily be removed with the right type of solution. This method is not always successful because depending on the amount of bleach spilled and how long it sat in the spot on the floor the fibers in the hardwood may have become damaged by the bleach. Neutralize the bleach with a 50 50 white vinegar and water solution. How to mop hardwood floor with bleach water.

You ll see all kinds of opinions about whether to use bleach on hardwood floors but when it comes to maintaining the beauty of hardwood i suggest you refrain from using bleach. Bleach can affect hardwood floors differently depending on the age quality and type of finish of the floor. Bleach however is a harsh chemical that has a tendency to ruin surfaces and materials in which it comes in contact. Mopping your hardwood floors with diluted bleach comes with a number of benefits.

A commercial paint and varnish remover will work on most other finishes. Bleach will damage hardwood floors. Get a clean sponge and apply it to the wood in the same way you applied the bleach to neutralize the bleach. Generally clorox regular bleach 2 is suitable for disinfecting floors made of hard surfaces like ceramic tile vinyl and linoleum not marble or other porous surfaces that aren t safe for bleach.

After applying your bleach mix a solution of half white vinegar and half water. With bleach water you get to disinfect your floors and keep them clean at the same time. Remove the existing finish using the appropriate product. Bleach gets rid of tough stains on wood while enrichening its natural color.

It also reverses the aging effect on wood that causes it to darken. Wood is porous and generally we only recommend bleaching exterior finished wood surfaces not interior hardwood floors. Try sanding the affected area and staining it with the original stain used on the floor. Lacquer thinner dissolves lacquer finishes commonly used on modern wood floors while denatured alcohol removes shellac.

How does bleach affect wood. Here s how to strip bleach and neutralize your hardwood floor. Common laundry bleach or chlorine will effectively remove stain or dye color from wood but will not affect the wood s natural color. The bottom line is that bleach is a caustic agent that can damage hardwood floors.

Finish composition quality and the age of the floor vary from home. Don t mix the bleach ahead of time. Some bleach kits include a neutralizer along with the bleach. Bleach can damage hardwood if not used properly.